


changing the world, bit by bit

by Selinenuli



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23281315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selinenuli/pseuds/Selinenuli
Summary: The Doctor was always running around, helping people. Doing everything she could to make the world a better place. Changing it, bit by bit.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	changing the world, bit by bit

**Author's Note:**

> i know, i know. i haven't updated anything in foreeeeeeever.  
> But i've got planty of time now, what with school being cancled, so there you have this.
> 
> as you can probably see, i have latched onto Yaz. i really like her.

They had just come back from another adventure. Thrilling, exciting, dangerous. Their adventures were all of those, but they were also tiring. Every now and then, they needed some down time.  
But that didn’t necessarily mean taking them back home. The Doctor was willing to, of course, but they wanted to stay.

So right now they were all in the TARDIS, in various locations, resting and recharging.  
The Doctor didn’t know exactly where her fam was, though she did know Yaz was somewhere nearby.

The Doctor herself was lying on her back underneath her ship’s console, trying to fix whatever it was that needed fixing.

Three knocks echoed around the console room.  
The Doctor paused, listening, and a second later, there it was again.

She jumped to her feet and ran to open the door.  
Who could possibly be knocking on the TARDIS’ door? On earth, in the twenty-first century?  
Most humans never noticed the blue box.

Ooo, this was exciting.

She flung the doors open, and it took her a while to realize who had knocked. Maybe because of the human’s small size.  
It was a child.

The Doctor frowned “Can I help you?”

“Are you the police? Your box says police. Are you a police officer?”

Turning back inside, The Doctor called “Yaz! It’s for you!” then turned back to the child with a bright smile on her face. “Please come in. Would you like a biscuit?”

The child nodded and took the offered sweet.  
Her eyes were wide, cheeks streaked with tears, fingers clutching at the hem of her shirt.  
The Doctor knew close to nothing about children, especially humans, yet even she could tell something was wrong.

Hands leaning on her knees, she went down to the girl’s eye level. “What’s your name?”

“Abby,” she mumbled through a mouthful of biscuit.

The Doctor smiled “Nice to meet you, Abby. Brilliant name. I’m the Doctor. I’m not a police officer, but my friend is, and I am very good at helping people. It’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

Again, Abby nodded, wiping her face with her sleeve.

The Doctor wasn’t so sure what to do, though. And there was no sign of Yaz.

“Miss?” Abby asked, her voice barely above a whisper “Your box is bigger on the inside. Is it supposed to do that?

The Doctor chuckled “Yes it is. And it can do much more than that, y’know.”

“And it’s your box?”

“Yep.”

“And you’re not a police officer?”

“Nope.”

“Why does it say police box, then?”

The Doctor paused, an amused smile on her face. Children. Brilliant. Always asking the right questions.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe she just likes the looks of it.”

“The box?”

“Yeah. She’s called the TARDIS. That stands for Time And Relatives Dimensions In Space.”

At the sound of hurried footsteps, the both of them spun around. It was Yaz. And Ryan, and also Graham. The whole fam!

The Doctor smiled in relief.  
“Oh, there you are. We need your help,” she told Yaz.

Yaz looked between the two of them, a confused expression on her face.  
The boys seemed to be just as confused.

“Are you a police officer?” Abby asked then, breaking the silence.

Yaz’ eyes snapped into focus. Confusion hidden, a smile on her lips.  
“Yeah. Yes, I am.”

“My mummy said if I ever need help, I should ask a police officer. The box said police. But there was only a Doctor inside. But now you’re here. Can you help me?”

Yaz chuckled “Sure, sweetie. What’d you need help with?”

“I’ve lost my teddy bear.”

Yaz stared at the small girl, dumbfounded.  
“Right. And have you told your parents?”

“They didn’t listen”, she said sadly.

“Right!” called the Doctor “We better find your teddy bear, then. Can you tell me its name?”

Yaz glanced back at Ryan and Graham. They looked just as confused as she felt.  
Graham shook his head. Ryan shrugged, an amused smile on his face.  
Yaz sighed and turned back to Abby.  
“Where have you last seen your teddy bear?”

“His name is scarlet.”

“Right. And where have you last seen him?”

“I can’t remember. I need him! He’s my best friend. Will you please help me?”

In the split second when Yaz was hesitating, trying to decide on the best course of action, The Doctor had already stepped forward.

“Well of course we will!”

Ryan cleared his throat and nodded “Yeah, why don’t you take us to where you were last, and we can track back your footsteps.

Abby nodded and, with a regained smile and lightness to her steps, led them out of the TARDIS. They had apparently landed in a playground. They followed the child, walking between, slides, swings and ladders.

While Abby told Graham and Ryan all about Scarlet the teddy bear, Yaz fell into step beside The Doctor. “So. is that just what we do now? Help little girls and their teddy bears?”

Not that there was anything wrong with that, per se. It was just that Yaz spent most of her time travelling the stars, through time and space. Compared to that, helping little girls and their teddy bears was like… parking disputes.  
Important, yes. But also boring. Useless, not making any actual impact.

“Oi!” objected The Doctor “This is just as important as saving the world, y’know?”

Was it, though?  
It didn’t feel as important.

Maybe The Doctor could see the doubt on Yaz’ face, because she asked “What do you think will happen if we don't help her? What would she think?”

She’d think we were jerks, and find someone else that would help her?”

The Doctor shook her head.  
“She’d think it wasn’t important. That it didn’t matter. That she didn’t matter. You get what I’m saying?”

Yaz nodded, grimacing. Yeah, she did get it. And now she felt kinda guilty about her earlier way of thinking. She should've known better.

The Doctor, though, was not finished.  
“And she’d be wrong, of course. Because she does matter. Everybody does. Every single life in the whole wide universe. I’m not saying we should help every little girl who lost her teddy bear. But when one comes knocking on our door…”

They found Scarlet the teddy bear without too much difficulty. Abby had left him in the sandbox, and he had been buried in the sand. The Doctor told her to give him a bath and that he’d be just fine. What she got in return was the brightest smile.

And Oh, the Doctor was so right. She always was with that type of thing. That smile Abby gave them as she waved goodbye was everything.  
Knowing that they had made someone’s life just a little bit better, that was everything.  
Not every day had to end with saving the world, or even lives.

Helping simple people was just as important, even if it was just finding a lost teddy bear.

(Where would Yaz be, if someone hadn’t helped her? Not here, that’s for sure. Probably dead, gone and forgotten)

She looked back at the Doctor, her mouth hanging open, but she wasn’t sure what to say. Thank you? No, that wouldn’t be enough.

The Doctor was smiling, just as she always was. Hands in her coat pockets, rocking back on her heels. She was smiling, but there was a certain sadness to her eyes.

And Yaz couldn’t help but wonder.

The Doctor was always running around, helping people. Doing everything she could to make the world a better place. Changing it, bit by bit.  
But who helped her?

Not saving her life or anything, stars know she can do that herself.

But in smaller ways.

Help finding something that was lost.  
Make sure she was getting enough sleep.  
Give her a hug when needed.

Was there anyone to do that?

(If there wasn’t, then Yaz hoped she could be that person herself)


End file.
